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story and Government 
of Illinois 



BY 

OLIVER MORTON DICKERSON, Ph.D. 

FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, WESTERN ILLINOIS 
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 



A Supplement to 

ELEMENTARY AMERICAN HISTORY AND 
GOVERNMENT 

BY 

James Albert Woodburn, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND POLITICS IN INDIANA UNIVERSITY 

AND 

Thomas Francis Moran, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND ECONOMICS IN PURDUE UNIVERSITY 



LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 

FOURTH AVENUE AND 30TH STREET, NEW YORK 
PRAIRIE AVENUE AND 25TH STREET, CHICAGO 
Copyright, 1919, by Longmans, Green and Co. 



ici<^li,icii^icicicicic^^ 






m 26 1919 



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HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
OF ILLINOIS 

BY OLIVER MORTON DICKERSON, PH.D. 

Formerly Professor of History, Western Illinois State Normal School. 
Author of '^American Colonial Government^' 

THE FRENCH IN ILLINOIS 

Early Explorations. So far as we know, Joliet and Mar- 
quette were the first white men to explore what is now Illinois. 
The French had settled at Montreal and Quebec and had ex- 
plored most of the region about the Great Lakes. Their fur 
traders and priests had gone far into the woods and it is more 
than probable that some had entered Illinois. The fur traders 
heard of a great body of water to the west and, in the course 
of time, similar tales reached the ear of Count Frontenac, 
governor of New France. 

Joliet and Marquette. As the European nations were still 
anxious to find a water route to China and India, the French 
thought that this body of water to the west might lead to the 
Pacific Ocean, and so to Asia. Consequently, in 1672, Fronte- 
nac selected a brave fur trader named Joliet to find out what 
he could about the strange body of water, and especially to learn 
whether it flowed into the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. 

Joliet started from Quebec in the fall of 1672, crossed to 
Lake Huron by way of the Ottawa River, and spent the win- 
ter at St. Ignace, a small mission station on Mackinac Straits. 
Here he found Father Marquette, a Jesuit priest who was anxious 
to visit the Illinois Indians. Joliet was glad to have Marquette's 
company, and the following May they began their journey. 
They went up the coast of Lake Michigan to Green Bay, 



476 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

ascended the Fox River, carried their canoes across to the Wis- 
consin, paddled down that, and came out on the broad Father 
of Waters. 




Marquette's Winter Camp near Chicago 

This was beyond doubt the first white man's residence in Illinois, 
painting in the auditorium of the Normal School at Macomb. 



From a 



On their way down that great river they saw many wonderful 
things. Near the mouth of the Rock River they found a hunt- 
ing party of Illinois Indians with whom they had a friendly visit. 
Farther down they saw a great muddy stream flowing in from 
the west. On the rocky bluff near Alton they saw strange 

©CI.A586(J8U 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 477 

figures painted on the high cHff . They went on down the river 
until some Indians warned them of hostile tribes farther down 
and told them the mouth of the river was distant only a few 
days' journey. From the direction the river flowed Joliet knew 
it must empty into the Gulf of Mexico and, as he had found out 
what he was sent for, he and Marquette started back. When 
they came to the Illinois River, they paddled up that stream 
and up the Des Plaines nearly to where Chicago now stands, 
then carried their canoes across to the Chicago River, and 
reached Lake Michigan. Johet went back to report to Gov- 
ernor Frontenac, and Marquette made plans to return to the 
Illinois Indians and convert them. 

The First Mission Station. It was about a year before he 
was able to do this, but in 1674 he reached the Chicago River, 
built a rude cabin, and spent the winter there. He wished to 
go on to the villages of the Illinois Indians' near Lake Peoria, 
but was not strong enough until spring. Then he pushed on 
and succeeded in founding the first regular mission in the state. 

La Salle. The French were chiefly interested in the fur 
trade, but it w^as a long way from the Illinois country to Mon- 
treal and Quebec where the furs were sold. There were no large 
boats on the Great Lakes then, and it was almost impossible to 
carry heavy skins and furs in the small canoes. Consequently 
the fur trade in Illinois was undeveloped. 

La Salle, an adventurous Frenchman, thought he saw a way 
to make a fortune out of the fur trade in Illinois. His plan was 
to get a monopoly of the fur trade in this region from the king 
of France, build a large boat on the Great Lakes to carry his 
furs to market, establish regular trading stations in Illinois, 
build another large boat on the Illinois River to collect the furs 
from the Indians living along the various tributaries of the 
Mississippi, send them across to Lake Michigan, and thence by 
his first boat to his stations in Canada. 

The first part of the plan was carried out; the king gave him 
the grant, he built a sailing vessel, which he called the Griffin, 



478 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

on Lake Erie, and sailed to Green Bay. Here he loaded it with 
a rich cargo of furs and sent it back to unload and bring him 
fresh supplies, while he with his trusty friend Tonty went on 
to the Illinois to make treaties with the Indians and build 
another large boat on the Illinois River. It was early in the 
winter of 167 9-1 686 when La Salle and his party reached the 
large Indian village near Lake Peoria. The boat was soon 
built, but they had no chains, sails, or anchors. These were 
to be brought by the Griffin on its return voyage, but that 
ship with its rich cargo was lost. Consequently La Salle had 
to go back to Fort Frontenac to get supplies, leaving Tonty 
to look after things in Illinois. He had already sent one of 
his companions. Father Hennepin, to explore the upper 
Mississippi. While La Salle was gone, a war party of Iroquois 
Indians from New York invaded the country, killed many of 
the Illinois Indians, burned their villages, and drove them 
from their homes. 

La Salle saw, when he returned to Illinois with his supplies, 
that something must be done to protect his Indian fur hunters 
from the Iroquois, else his trade would be ruined. So he planned 
a great Indian confederacy, including nearly all the tribes in the 
region. These were to move their villages to a high bluff on 
the Illinois River, called ^' The Rock," and settle around it. 
On the rock La Salle was to build a fort so strong that no Indian 
war party could take it. Thus his Indians would be safe from 
future attacks from the Iroquois. The old men and the women 
and children could raise corn enough for all, and the braves 
could spend their time collecting furs. 

Tonty was intrusted with the details of the arrangement for 
the fort. La Salle had finished his boat and began to explore 
the lower Mississippi, finally discovered its mouth, took pos- 
session of the whole Mississippi valley in the name of France, 
and returned to the fort which Tonty was building. It was 
named St. Louis in honor of the king of France. 

Things looked prosperous to La Salle in the fall of 1682. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 



479 



From his fort he could look out on a wonderfully rich river val- 
ley capable of producing enough corn to feed many thousands 
of people. He could also see the villages of many tribes of 
Indians, totaling some twenty thousand and including about 
four thousand warriors — one of the largest settlements of In- 
dians ever collected on the continent. He could also see the 
substantial houses of his own countrymen who had come to the 
new colony in large numbers. Surely there was no more danger 
from the Iroquois! 

Soon a new danger confronted him. All his furs had to go 
to market by way of Canada and all of his supplies come in that 
way. His old friend, Front enac, was no longer governor, but a 
man who was unfriendly to La Salle ruled in his place. Soon 
La Salle found his supplies stopped and his furs seized. All of 
his hard work and vast expenditure of money were about to be 
lost. 

To save his settlement. La Salle decided to break away en- 
tirely from Canada and bring his supplies in by way of the Mis- 
sissippi. But at that time no French ship had ever come to the 
Mississippi, so it was necessary for him to return to France. 
There he again got the king's favor, was given a fleet of vessels, 
secured many settlers who were willing to come to America, 
and started for the mouth of the Mississippi. Unfortunately 
he missed this, landed west of it on the coast of Texas, was 
unable to find his way back, and was finally killed by one of his 
own men. 

The Httle settlement at Fort St. Louis had been left under 
the care of Tonty; but, when La Salle failed to return, the In- 
dians gradually left for their old villages, and the fort was soon 
entirely abandoned. 

Permanent Settlements. The abandonment of Fort St. 
Louis left the Illinois Indians unprotected, and by 1700 they 
had moved south and west and established their villages along 
the Mississippi River, between the mouths of the Illinois and 
the Kaskaskia rivers. The Jesuit missionaries moved with 



48o ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

them to the Kaskaskia River and soon a French settlement 
grew up at the village of that name. Within the same year 
another mission station was founded at Cahokia. 

Illinois a Part of Louisiana. Illinois was no longer a part 
of Canada but was, in 171 2, attached to Louisiana. It grew 
very slowly until it came into the hands of John Law's Company 
of the West in 17 18. Law had great schemes for making money 
out of the country. 

One way was to develop the gold and silver mines supposed 
to exist. To do this a man named Renault was sent over with 
many expert miners and several negroes, which he purchased in 
San Domingo to do the hard labor in the mines. Renault 
arrived at Kaskaskia with his men and negroes almost exactly 
one hundred years after slavery was introduced at Jamestown. 
As no mines were found the negroes were put to work building a 
fort called Fort Chartres. Finally they were sold to the farm- 
ers near there and so remained in the country. 

A Royal Province. When the Company of the West gave 
up its rights in 1732, the Illinois settlements were joined to 
Louisiana and governed directly by officials appointed by the 
king. By 1750 there were five villages with about eleven hun- 
dred whites living along the Mississippi between the Illinois 
and Kaskaskia rivers. 

The French Inhabitants. These people were chiefly farmers, 
hunters, and fur traders. They raised wheat and live stock and 
shipped their surplus products to New Orleans on flatboats and 
rafts. There they bought cloth, ammunition, tools, and other, 
manufactured goods. Unlike the English, they did not spin 
and weave their own cloth; nor did they care for corn bread, 
but used wheat flour, ground in their own mills. 

The French settlers were rather an easy-going, lazy, pleasure- 
loving people, fond of dancing and amusements of all kinds. 
The noisy serenade of newly married couples called by its French 
name, charivari, was borrowed from the French by the Ken- 
tuckians, and still exists in many parts of the state. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 



481 



The people of Illinois took but little part in the various inter- 
colonial wars, except the French and Indian. The garrison at 
Fort Duquesne was from Illinois as was the force that captured 
Washington at Fort Necessity. The French also drew their 
supplies from Illinois. 

Treaty of Paris, 1763. In the Treaty of Paris the Illinois 
country with the rest of the French possessions was given to the 




Starved Rock 

English, but it was more than two years before the English got 
to Kaskaskia to take possession. This delay was caused by Pon- 
tiac's Conspiracy which included many of the western Indians. 

The French in Illinois were very angry at being ceded to the 
English and many moved across the river and founded new 
settlements in what they supposed was French territory. This 
was the beginning of St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, and other towns. 
For the next thirteen years Illinois was ruled by the English. 

Starved Rock. The sequel to Pontiac's Conspiracy occurred 
in Illinois in 1769. Pontiac had been visiting in St. Louis and 



482 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

crossed over to Cahokia where he was murdered by a Kaskaskia 
Indian. The northern tribes who were friendly to Pontiac 
charged the lUinois Indians with responsibility for the death 
of the great chieftain and soon began a war of extermination 
against them. Tradition says the Illinois were finally forced 
to take refuge on the top of the rock where Fort St. Louis once 
stood. There they were closely besieged by their enemies, 
were cut off from all supplies of food and water, and in their 
weakened condition were nearly all killed. Their whitening 
bones long lay exposed on the top of the rock, giving it the name 
it still bears, ''Starved Rock." 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1. Why was Joliet sent to explore the Mississippi River? 

2. Draw a map showing La Salle's explorations. 

3. How was slavery introduced into Illinois? 

4. Write an essay on "Starved Rock." 

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL READING 

1. Parkman, "Pioneers of France in the New World." 

2. Parkman, "La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West." 

3. Parkman, "Conspiracy of Pontiac." 

4. Mather, "Making of Illinois." 

5. Dunn, "History of Indiana," Chapter III. 

6. Smith, "Students' History of Illinois." 

7. Moses, "Illinois, Historical and Statistical, I," Chapters III-VI. 

8. Parrish, "Historic Illinois," Chapters III-X. 



ILLINOIS AN AMERICAN TERRITORY 

Clark Takes Illinois from the British, 1778. Pioneers from 
Virginia and Carolina settled in Kentucky during the first years 
of the Revolution. General Hamilton, a British officer at De- 
troit, tried to prevent these settlements by sending out the In- 
dians who lived in the Illinois and Indiana country to attack 
them. For nearly two years the settlers were in almost con- 
stant danger. They could not take care of their crops or clear 
their land in safety, but most of the time were shut up in the log 
forts at Boonesborough, Harrodstown, and other places. 

At last George Rogers Clark, one of the boldest of the settlers, 
was sent to Virginia to get help. He persuaded the Virginia 
legislature to give the Kentuckians a better form of government 
and also secured ammunition for the settlers. 

He was an experienced Indian fighter and knew that the 
quickest way to stop an Indian attack was to go into the Indian's 
country and attack his own home. As the Indians were supplied 
with arms and ammunition and sent out from the old French 
posts on the Mississippi and Wabash rivers, Clark proposed 
to capture these and force the Indians to make peace. 

Patrick Henry, who was then governor of Virginia, favored 
his plan and gave him a commission and money. Clark went 
to Pittsburgh to raise a force of men and met with only fair suc- 
cess. His friends in Kentucky were more enthusiastic and 
enlisted readily. The men assembled on a small island in the 
Ohio River near Louisville, where Clark explained his plan and 
made his final arrangements. They descended the Ohio River, 
landed near Fort Massac, and marched across to Kaskaskia, 
arriving opposite the town on the evening of July 4, 1778. 
The French and English were not suspecting an attack. That 
night he crossed the river, surprised the town, and captured 



484 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

the commander without J&ring a shot. (See the map on 
page 158.) 

The next morning he assembled the people, explained to 
them that France and America were alKes, that the French king 
had sent an army and a fleet to fight for us, and that he expected 
the French in Illinois to join with the Americans against the 
English. He also promised to let them keep their property and 
their religion. The French were very much pleased and soon 
were Clark's good friends. Through the friendly aid of Father 
Gibault, the priest at Kaskaskia, the other French settlements 
in Illinois and the one at Vincennes promptly declared for the 
Americans and surrendered to Clark. 

General Hamilton, as soon as he heard of Clark's invasion 
of the Illinois country, organized a large force of British, Canadi- 
ans, and Indians, and recaptured Vincennes. Thinking it too 
late in the season to march against Kaskaskia, he dismissed his 
Indians with orders to assemble for a spring campaign against 
Clark. 

Clark's position at Kaskaskia was now dangerous, as many of 
his men had gone back to Kentucky. If he waited until sum- 
mer, Hamilton's force would greatly outnumber his own, and the 
Indians would turn against him. He determined to capture 
Hamilton before the latter's Indian alKes rejoined him. So in 
February, 1779, with a small force of French from Illinois and 
Americans from Kentucky, only one hundred and seventy- 
three in all, he started across country toward Vincermes. They 
got along pretty well until they reached the rivers in the east- 
ern part of the state. These were out of their banks, the weather 
became cold, and they had to wade the icy water for days. To 
make matters worse they were short of food, but they struggled 
on imtil at last they reached the bank of the Wabash and man- 
aged to get across the river where they found food, fire, and 
shelter. 

Hamilton did not know that Clark had left Kaskaskia until 
the Americans began to attack the fort. He supposed Clark 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 485 

had a much larger force than he had, and Clark kept up the 
deception. After a short fight General Hamilton surrendered. 
This ended British authority northwest of the Ohio River and 
enabled the Americans to get the entire region when the treaty 
of peace was signed four years later. 

Illinois a County of Virginia. State Claims. Clark and 
his men were Virginia troops, and to her old charter rights that 
state had added a claim based on conquest. Soon a county 
government was provided, and for two years Illinois was known 
as the Illinois County of Virginia. Connecticut and Massachu- 
setts also had claims on this region. You have already learned 
that Maryland would not ratify the Articles of Confederation 
until all the states gave up their claims to the western lands. 
This was finally done, and by 1787 the United States had a 
full title to all the region northwest of the Ohio River. 

Illinois a Part of the Northwest Territory. The Ordinance 
of 1787 provided a regular territorial government for the entire 
region. General Arthur St. Clair was the first governor, and he 
soon fixed the capital at Cincinnati. His first work was to 
establish county governments for each settlement. At first 
there were only four counties, and only one of these in Illinois, 
for all the settlements in this state were put into a single county 
called St. Clair. The county seat was at Cahokia, and thpre 
court was held. The people at Kaskaskia objected to going so 
far — it was about sixty miles — to court, so the region was 
divided and Kaskaskia made the county seat of a new county 
called Randolph. 

Indiana Territory. Settlers came into the Northwest Terri- 
tory rapidly and by 1798 there were enough to have a legisla- 
ture. This met at Cincinnati and two of the delegates were from 
Illinois. As the settlers came from the east and had to float 
down the Ohio, the eastern part of the territory settled up first. 
By 1800 what is now Ohio was made a separate territory, and 
the rest was called Indiana. William Henry Harrison was 
appointed governor of Indiana with the capital at Vincennes. 



486 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

Slavery. Indenture Laws. Some of the old French slaves, 
descendants from those brought in by Renault, were still held 
in Illinois. The Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery every- 
where and forever in the region northwest of the Ohio River, 
but this was interpreted to mean that no new slaves could be 
brought in, consequently the people in Illinois were permitted 
to keep their slaves. 

The Kentuckians held slaves, and that state was famous 
for its rapid growth and prosperity. Many of the Illinois settlers 
had come from Kentucky, were accustomed to slaves, and 
thought their labor would be necessary to clear the land and 
get it in cultivation. They were anxious to see Illinois grow 
rapidly in population and wealth and believed that the prohibi- 
tion of slavery was the one thing which held the state back; 
consequently they petitioned Congress several times to repeal 
the clause in the Ordinance of 1787 prohibiting slavery, but 
Congress refused. 

Many people in Indiana wxre also in favor of slavery. Since 
Congress refused to permit it, the Indiana officials arranged for 
a system of indentures which amounted to slavery. Under 
the laws adopted, any person was at hberty to bring negroes 
into the territory, have them sign a paper called an indenture, 
and continue to hold them in practical slavery. Children of 
indentured slaves could be held by their masters until the males 
were thirty and the females twenty-eight years old. Many 
negroes were brought into the territory and indentured, and thus 
slavery existed in spite of the Ordinance of 1787. 

Separation from Indiana, 1809. The people of eastern Indi- 
ana had come from Ohio and the eastern states where slavery 
had been abolished, consequently they opposed slavery in any 
form and favored the repeal of the, indenture laws. They also 
wished to move the capital further east. Here was a chance 
for the people in Illinois and eastern Indiana to combine. Both 
were dissatisfied with the location of the capital. Illinois fa- 
vored slavery and eastern Indiana opposed it. By dividing the 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 



487 



territory perhaps each could have what it wanted. Conse- 
quently both groups voted for a man by the name oi Jesse 
Thomas as delegate to Congress, under a promise that he would 
work to have Illinois 
separated from Indi- 
ana. He kept his 
promise and Illinois 
became a separate ter- 
ritory in 1809. 

Illinois Territory. 
Ninian Edwards was 
appointed governor of 
the new territory. 
The laws of Indiana, 
including the indent- 
ure laws, were adopt- 
ed and we began all 
over again to grow 
into a state. 

Indians. Fort 
Dearborn. Rangers. 
In a short time the 
Indians began to 
make trouble for the 
settlers in Illinois and 
Indiana. Harrison 
raised an army and 
defeated them at Tip- 
pecanoe and they were 
quiet for a little while. But in 181 2 when the war with Eng- 
land broke out they were again on the war-path. Captain 
Heald with a few United States troops was stationed at Fort 
Dearborn, where Chicago now stands. He received orders 
to retreat to Fort Wayne, Indiana, unless he could hold the 
fort. The Indians heard that he was going to leave the fort 




Illinois and Indiana Territories 

Notice the successive divisions of Indiana Terri- 
tory; first to form Michigan, second to make 
lUinois. Illinois was not reduced to its present 
limits until its admission in 1818. The part cut 
off on the north was called Wisconsin. 



488 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

and collected about it in large numbers. Captain Heald made 
the mistake of promising the Indians the suppHes he could not 
take with him. The Indians thought this included the guns, 
rum, and ammunition, but these were destroyed by Heald 
before leaving. The troops had gone only a few miles from 
the fort when the Indians attacked them, killed about one-half 
the company, and captured the rest. The incident is usually 
referred to as the ^^ Massacre of Fort Dearborn.^' 

During the rest of the war the people in Illinois had to pro- 
tect themselves from Indian raids. All the settlements were 
in the southwestern and southern part of the state. The rest of 
the state was Indian country. The settlers built blockhouses 
on the side of the settlements nearest the Indians, cut roads 
from one blockhouse to another, and had men traverse these 
roads once a day. Thus if any bands of Indians crossed the 
roads to attack the settlers, it would be known in time to prevent 
much loss. In addition to this, Governor Edwards organized 
companies of mounted soldiers, called rangers, who could follow 
the Indians quickly. In spite of these precautions, some people 
were killed, some captured, and much stock stolen. One expedi- 
tion was made into the Indian country and some Indian \dllages 
near Peoria destroyed. 

After the war was over the Indians were again peaceful and 
settlers came in more rapidly than ever before. The men who 
served in the war were each given one himdred sixty acres of 
land. The entire western part of the state was set aside for the 
soldiers and is still known as the Military Tract. 

Admission as a State, 1818. By 1818 there were nearly 
forty thousand people living in Illinois and Congress gave its 
permission for the preparation of a state constitution. It also 
offered to the state the sLxtcenth section in each township in the 
state as a gift in aid of schools, a whole township to help sup- 
port a college or seminary of learning, and the salt springs near 
Shawneetown, which were then very valuable. A convention 
was soon chosen which drew up a state constitution and accepted 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 489 




490 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

the generous offers of land. As soon as Congress met, the con- 
stitution was laid before it and accepted and Illinois was finally 
admitted as a state, December 5, 18 18. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1. What conditions in Kentucky led to the conquest of the Northwest 

by Clark? 

2. What nations and states have had claims on Illinois? 

3. Write an essay on "Slavery in Illinois, 1 700-1818." 

4. Summarize the troubles with the Indians, 1 763-1818. 

5. What stages of territorial government are provided for in the Ordi- 

nance of 1787? How often lias Illinois gone through each stage? 

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL READING 

1. Dunn, "History of Indiana," Chapter IV. 

2. Roosevelt, "Winning of the West," I, Chapters X, XI; II, Chapters 

I-III. 

3. Mather, "Making of IlHnois." 

4. Thwaites, "How George Rogers Clark Won the Northwest." 

5. Moses, "Illinois, Historical and Statistical." 

6. Hinsdale, "Old Northwest," Chapters V-X. 



STATE OF ILLINOIS 

The Great Fight Against Slavery, 1822-1824. Those who 
favored slavery had not given up their plans to make slavery 
legal in Illinois. Now that we were a state, they argued that 
we could have slavery if we wanted it, as the Ordinance of 1787 
was no longer binding. Their plan was to have another conven- 
tion called, amend the constitution so as to admit slavery, and 
declare it adopted without letting the people as a whole vote 
on it. 

Edward Coles, a Virginian, a close friend of Madison and 
Monroe, and a man of wealth, education, and refinement, had 
come to Illinois to live in 18 19. On his way he freed all his 
negroes and gave each head of a family a farm. He soon became 
very well known, as he had charge of the government land office 
at Kaskaskia. In 1822 he ran for governor and was elected, 
but the legislature was strongly in favor of slavery. In his first 
message Governor Coles asked the legislature to repeal the in- 
denture laws which still permitted slavery, but of course it did 
nothing of the kind. Instead it set to work to call a convention. 

The constitution of the state said that two-thirds of each 
house of the legislature must first vote to ask the people to vote 
for or against a convention; then, at the next regular election, a 
majority of the people must vote in favor of holding a conven- 
tion before such a convention could be elected. After a great 
deal of trouble two-thirds of the legislature voted to submit 
the question of calling a convention to the people of the state. 
Then followed one of the most exciting campaigns the state has 
ever known. 

Governor Coles and Congressman Cook opposed the conven- 
tion, as did all the other anti-slavery people, for they knew what 
such a convention would do. Coles gave up a great deal of his 



492 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

time to the campaign, speaking in every part of the state, paying 
out his salary for the entire four years in travehng expenses, 
and urging everywhere the vote against the convention. He 
was aided by other pubHc spirited men, the most prominent of 
whom was John M. Peck, a famous Baptist preacher, and Mor- 
ris Birkbeck, a wealthy, educated Enghshman, who had settled 
with other Enghshmen in what is now Edwards county. When 
the final vote was counted, the convention was beaten by more 
than a thousand votes and IlHnois remained a free state. 

The Black Hawk War, 1831-1832. Although the Indians 
had ceded all their lands in IlHnois to the United States govern- 
ment, the Sac and Fox Indians still hved in their village near 
Rock Island in 1830. It was agreed that they might hve there 
until the land was sold by the United States. Our frontiers- 
men never liked the Indians and, while the latter, were away 
from their village across the Mississippi River on their annual 
hunt, many settlers came into their village and took up the land. 
When the Indians came back they soon got into trouble with 
the whites, the governor called out the militia. United States 
soldiers were ordered out, and the Indians forced to leave the 
state and agree not to return. This was in the summer of 1831. 

The next spring, however. Black Hawk and a band of fol- 
lowers returned, claiming he was going to the Winnebagoes 
in Wisconsin to raise a crop of corn. The people naturally 
thought he meant to raise mischief in Illinois, and were badly 
frightened. Troops were again called out, several skirmishes 
were fought, a number of soldiers and settlers were killed, but 
finally Black Hawk was chased out of the state into Wisconsin 
where he was finally overtaken and his entire band either killed 
or captured. 

Results of the War. That was the last Indian scare in IlH- 
nois, and it did not amount to much in itself, although some 
famous men served in it, including Abraham Lincoln and Jeffer- 
son Davis. It did have an important effect, however, on the 
settlement of the northwestern portion of the state. The soldiers 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 493 

who took part in the war were marched across that part 
of the state in various directions and learned what a fine coun- 
try it was. When they returned to their homes they told their 
neighbors what they had seen and soon there was a strong move- 
ment of settlers toward the region. The war also served to adver- 
tise the northern part of the state, and settlers poured into it 
from other states. Chicago grew rapidly; at the beginning of 
the war it was only a village with a few hundred inhabitants: 
by 1840 it was a city of several thousand. 

Internal Improvements. The increase in immigration soon 
led to a demand for better means of transportation. There 
were few good roads in the state and no railroads or canals. 
The rivers were still the chief highways for trade, and the por- 
tions of the state which lay beyond the reach of the steamboat 
remained unsettled and almost inaccessible. 

Congress had given the state a right of way through the gov- 
ernment lands from the Chicago River to the Illinois, and in addi- 
tion each alternate section on either side of the right of way five 
miles back for the construction of a canal uniting Lake Michigan 
and the Illinois River. Surveys were made and the canal laid 
out. In 1836 work was actually begun. 

That event added to the enthusiasm in favor of other internal 
improvements. A great convention to boom the plan was held 
at Vandalia, the state capital, just before the session of the legis- 
lature in 1836, which laid out a programme of what ought to 
be done. 

Members of the legislature favored the plan, votes for one 
measure were traded for votes for another, and in addition the 
delegation from Sangamon county, which included Abraham 
Lincoln, traded support for almost any proposition for votes 
to move the capital to Springfield. The result was that an 
elaborate scheme of internal improvements was undertaken by 
the state and the capital was moved to Springfield. 

Railroads were to be built from Cairo to the Illinois and 
Michigan Canal and on to Galena where the lead mines were; 



494 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

from Alton to Shawneetown; from Alton to Terre Haute, Indi- 
ana; from Alton to Mt. Carmel; from Quincy to Danville; from 
Bloomington to Mackinaw; and from Peoria to Warsaw. In 
addition the Illinois, Rock, Kaskaskia, and Wabash Rivers 
were to be improved; the IlHnois and Michigan Canal com- 
pleted; and a quarter of a million dollars in cash for the con- 
struction of wagoii roads was given to counties which did not 
obtain railroads, canals, or river improvements. 

The money to pay for all these -improvements was raised by 
selling bonds. Work was begun on all at once, the state ran out 
of money long before the work was completed, and finally the 
whole plan had to be abandoned. One short Kne of railroad was 
completed from Meredosia to Springfield, and trains oper- 
ated for a time, but it never paid and was finally sold for a small 
part of its original cost. The Illinois and Michigan Canal was 
far enough along that it, too, was finished in 1848 and for many 
years was of great value to the state. It was the only part of 
the entire scheme, however, that proved successful. Some 
years later private capital built, and has successfully operated, 
good railroads along all the fines laid out by the state. 

Murder of Lovejoy, 1837. You have already learned how, 
when the abolition movement started, the southern and some 
northern men tried to stop it, by shutting its Hterature from the 
mails, mobbing its advocates, and denying to them their con- 
stitutional rights to be heard through petitions to Congress. 
One of the most memorable incidents in that struggle occurred 
in Ilfinois. 

Efijah P. Lovejoy was a preacher and editor of a rehgious 
newspaper called the Observer. He located first at St. Louis, 
but later was induced to move to Alton at the time that town 
was tr>dng to outgrow St. Louis. He early insisted on discuss- 
ing the slavery issue and favored the formation of a state anti- 
slavery society to aid the cause of freedom and to protest against 
the denial of the right of petition. 

The friends of slavery in Illinois were no more wilKng than 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 



495 



those in other parts of the country to permit a free discussion of 
the slavery question. Three different presses were destroyed in 
an effort to silence Lovejoy, and when the fourth one came he 




The Lovejoy Monument at Alton 

and his friends attempted to defend it. In this attempt he was 
shot and killed by a mob and his press destroyed. The rash 
act, however, only made friends for the cause of freedom, for 
the majority of people beheve in fair play. 



496 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

Owen Lovejoy, a brother of the martyr, took up the fight 
and became a most relentless foe of slavery. He was an able 
orator, beheved his mission in Hfe was to avenge the blood of 
his brother on the institution which had been responsible for 
his death, was sent to Congress, and was one of the foremost 
men in the formation of the RepubHcan party in this state. 
His home in Princeton was one of the most important stations 
on the Underground Railroad which enabled so many slaves 
to reach Canada and freedom. 

The Mormons at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith and his followers, 
called Mormons, had settled in Ohio and in Missouri. They 
had trouble with the people of Missouri over rehgion, slavery, 
and property; opposed the local authorities; and finally decided 
to leave the state. In looking for a location, the little town of 
Commerce on a beautiful bend of the Mississippi River appealed 
to them, they purchased the entire site, and moved to this 
state, renaming the town Nauvoo. 

On account of their religion, which differed from that of other 
people in the state, the Mormons wished to conduct their affairs 
without any interference from outsiders. To do this they 
secured from the state legislature a special charter which made 
the city of Nauvoo almost as powerful a government as the 
state itself, The city court had as much power as the state 
courts. Smith controlled the city government in Nauvoo 
including its courts; consequently it was impossible to serve 
warrants, make arrests, or execute any court orders in Nauvoo 
which Smith opposed. He himself was arrested on a requisi- 
tion from Missouri, but his own court turned him loose on a 
writ of habeas corpus. 

In the meantime thousands of his followers had moved to 
Hancock county and Nauvoo had become the largest city in the 
state. Finally trouble broke out among the Mormons themselves 
over polygamy, and a mob destroyed a printing press which 
had opposed the practice. It was claimed that Smith had been 
responsible for the action of the mob and he and some of his 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 497 

friends were indicted by the grand jury of Hancock county for 
riot. The Mormons resisted, but Smith finally surrendered, 
was taken to Carthage, and placed in jail. There he was killed 
by a mob June 27, 1844. Trouble between the Mormons and 
those who did not favor their rehgion continued, frequently 
ending in bloodshed, until finally they were forced to leave the 
state. Some sixteen thousand disposed of their property, built 
wagons and, in the spring of 1846, started for Salt Lake to found 
a new home. 

Illinois Central Railroad. The state greatly needed a rail- 
road running north and south through the fertile prairie land in 
the central portion of the state and connecting the Ohio River 
with the Ilhnois and Michigan Canal. In 1850 Congress granted 
the states of Illinois and Mississippi a large amount of pubKc 
land to aid them in building a railroad from Chicago to the 
Gulf of Mexico. Each state received the alternate sections, 
six miles back on each side of the proposed railroad. Illinois 
turned its land over to a company on condition that the com- 
pany should build the railroad from Cairo to Chicago, with a 
branch running to Galena by way of La Salle. The road was 
to be in operation by 1854, and the company agreed to pay the 
state, after 1857, seven per cent of all its receipts on these hnes. 
The company pushed its construction work rapidly and had all 
the road in operation in 1856, so Illinois at last had railroads 
which enabled settlers to reach the rich prairie lands far from 
the rivers. Soon eastern and central Illinois was taken up and 
the best farming land in the state brought into cultivation. 

Illinois in Politics. IlHnois occupied a prominent place in 
poHtics during the years 1850-1860. Stephen A. Douglas and 
Abraham Lincoln, the foremost figures of the period, were both 
from this state. The great Lincoln-Douglas debates occurred 
in this state and the convention which nominated Lincoln met 
at Chicago. 

Illinois' Part in the Civil War. In the Mexican War and 
the Civil War Illinois did her whole duty and -more. Richard 



498 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



Yates was *' war governor " and he effectively supported the 
war poHcy. He was among the first to answer the call of Lin- 
coln for troops in 1861, and offered more regiments than were 
asked for. No state in the Union did more for its volunteers 




Lincoln's Tomb and Monument, Springfield 

than did Illinois, and only one furnished more soldiers in pro- 
portion to its population. A total of 285,147 separate enhst- 
ments, or on the basis of three years of service, 214,133 soldiers 
must be credited to Illinois. Logan, the greatest volunteer 
general, and Grant, the greatest general of the war, both are 
sons of Illinois, as was also Lincoln, the President of the United 
States. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 



499 




Richard Yates 



Opposition to the War. Not everybody in Illinois favored 
the war, and in few states was it so hard for men to decide what 
to do. So many IlKnois famihes had come from the South that 
a civil war for them literally 
meant a war against brothers and 
cousins. It is no wonder there 
were southern sympathizers. Un- 
fortunately the opposition to 
the war became partisan, and 
showed itself in the Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1862 and 
the Legislature of 1863. The 
first drew up a partisan consti- 
tution which was promptly re- 
jected by popular vote. The 
latter adopted resolutions opposed to the war and conducted 
itself in such a way that Governor Yates finally adjourned it. 

Industrial Development. Since the war Illinois has enjoyed 
a remarkable growth in industry, population, and commerce. 
Chicago, in spite of the great fire in 187 1, has become the second 
city in the United States. The Chicago Drainage Canal, con- 
nects Lake Michigan with the Illinois River and enables Chicago 
to dispose of her sewage without endangering the health of her 
inhabitants. 

The coal mines have been developed, electric lines con- 
structed, and important manufacturing plants established. Oil 
and gas in great quantities have been discovered in the south- 
ern part of the state and now Illinois ranks third in the Union 
in the production of oil. Whole cities and large factories use 
natural gas for light and fuel. 

Illinois To-day. Illinois has always been noted for its agri- 
cultural resources, and is one of the foremost states in attempt- 
ing to maintain permanently by scientific farming the fertility 
of her soil. The state is also contemplating the development 
of her faciHties for water transportation, and proposes to make 



500 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

use of the water power for commercial purposes. A private 
corporation has harnessed the Mississippi at Keokuk and 
electrical pov/er is furnished to all the cities and towns near 
there. 

Our soil and climate make us a great agricultural state, our 
rivers and numerous railroads have made us a great commer- 
cial state, and our abundance of coal and water power, and our 
large population are rapidly making us the greatest manufactur- 
ing state in the nation. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1. Describe the plan to make Illinois a slave state. Was the Ordinance 

of 1787 effective after Illinois had become a state? 

2. What effect have Indian wars had on settlements in Illinois? How 

near your own home were some of the Indian troubles? 

3. Draw a map showing the proposed internal improvements. Which 

ones would have benefited the people near where you live, had they 
been completed? 

4. Write an essay on the growth of Chicago. 

5. Were the Mormons desirable settlers for Illinois? 

6. How much did the Illinois Central Railroad pay to the state last 

year? To what extent did its construction affect the settlement of 
your home county? 

7. Find out from each pupil when, why, and from where his ancestors 

came to Illinois. Note the historical periods or events illustrated in 
this study of immigration in your own school. 

8. How many men from your own school district, township, and county 

enlisted during the Civil War? How many were killed? Were there 
any "copperheads" in your neighborhood? Are they good citizens 
to-day? 

BOOKS FOR ADDITIONAL READING 

1. Moses, "Illinois, Historical and Statistical." 

2. Parrish, "Historic IlUnois." 

3. Smith, "Students' History of Illinois." 

4. Davidson and Stuve, "History of Illinois." 

5. Harris, "History of Negro Servitude in Illinois." 

6. Morse, "Abraham Lincoln." 

7. Johnson, "Stephen A. Douglas." 



HOW THE STATE IS GOVERNED 

Relation of the State to the Federal Government. The 

Constitution of the United States provides that all powers not 
given to the central government and not denied to the states 
belong to the states or to the people of the states. Consequently 
the state government does the things the United States govern- 
ment cannot do. Every person is subject to several sets of laws. 
In the first place, there are the laws made by Congress, then the 
laws made by the state legislature, and finally, those made by 
the city or town where he lives. These different laws do not 
conflict, but supplement each other. 

The State Constitution. The state, like the national govern- 
ment, has a written constitution. Illinois now has its third 
constitution. Each was made by delegates elected directly by 
the people, consequently we may say that the people of the 
state make the constitution and have the right to change it when 
they wish. The body that makes the constitution is called a 
constitutional convention. After such a body prepares a con- 
stitution it is regularly submitted to the voters of the state to 
adopt or reject. The first constitution was put in force by the 
convention without submitting it to the voters. 

Who May Vote. Any man who is a citizen of the United 
States, is twenty-one years of age, has hved in tne state one 
year, in the county ninety days, and in his voting precinct 
thirty days may vote at all elections, unless he is disquaHfied 
because of insanity or conviction of a felony. Women may 
vote for presidential electors but a state constitutional limita- 
tion bars them from voting for state officers. They may vote, 
however, for municipal and township officers. 

Bill of Rights. Three Departments. Our state constitu- 
tion is like the United States Constitution in several ways. In 
the first place, it has a bill of rights, in which the usual safe- 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 503 

guards of the individual's freedom are enumerated. In the 
second place, it provides for three separate departments — the 
executive, legislative, and judicial. 

The Governor. The chief executive officer is the Governor 
who is elected for four years and is eligible for reelection. He is 
paid a salary of $12,000 a year and has the use of the executive 
mansion at Springfield. He is responsible to the people for the 
enforcement of a large number of laws and has the power to 
appoint officers to see that his orders are obeyed. 

The Governor and the Legislature. The Governor also plays 
an important part in legislation. No bill can become a law 
without his signature, unless it is passed over his veto by two- 
thirds of each house of the legislature. He is also required by 
the constitution to recommend legislation and, in this way, he 
frequently exerts much influence in favor of laws which he 
thinks should be passed. By speeches, addresses, and special 
messages he can frequently attract the attention of the people 
of the state and arouse so much public opinion that the legisla- 
ture is forced to pass laws which he recommends. 

Other Executive Officers. There are several other execu- 
tive officers besides the Governor, but their duties are mostly 
administrative. The Treasurer receives and pays out the state 
money on proper orders. The Auditor has to pass on the legal- 
ity of every claim against the state and see that no money is 
paid out unless the state legislature has ordered it to be expended. 
The Superintendent of PubHc Instruction has charge of the edu- 
cational department, makes addresses, advises with county super- 
intendents, has school statistics prepared, holds examinations 
for state teachers' certificates, and is a member of the boards of 
trustees of the several normal schools and the State University. 
The Adjutant- General has immediate command of the state 
miHtia. The Attorney- General is at the head of the legal depart- 
ment of the state and furnishes legal advice to all state officers 
when requested to do so. He also brings suit in the name of the 
state when ordered to do so by the Governor. 



504 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

The State Legislature. The legislature, officially known as 
the General Assembly, is composed of two houses. The smaller 
of these has fifty-one members and, Hke the upper house 
of Congress, is called the Senate. The members are elected for 
four years, and one-half go out of office every two years. The 
larger house has one hundred and fifty-three members, just 
three times as many as the smaller, and is known as the House 
of Representatives. The members, like those of the lower 
house of Congress, are elected for two years and all go out of 
office at the same time. 

Election of the Legislature. Minority Representation. Illi- 
nois is divided into fifty-one senatorial districts. Each of these 
districts chooses one member of the state Senate and three 
members of the state House of Representatives. The repre- 
sentatives are chosen in a curious way, usually called the minor- 
ity representation system. There are three members to be 
elected from each district, and each voter is given three votes. 
He may cast all of these for one man, or divide them up in any 
way he chooses. The three men receiving the highest number of 
votes are declared elected. 

The system does not work well, because of the opportunity 
it offers for secret "plumping," or casting three votes for one 
man. It also results in Hmiting the number of nominations, 
so there is no contest in the election. In many districts one party 
nominates two candidates and the other one; and since there 
are three persons to be elected and only three candidates, all 
are sure of election. Many people think that this system of elec- 
tion is responsible for the presence of more or less corruption in 
the lower house of the state legislature, because the opportunity 
for plumping makes it difficult for an honest majority in a dis- 
trict to defeat, and so keep at home, a legislator with a bad 
reputation. 

Organization of the Two Houses. Passing of Bills. The 
state legislature is organized very much like Congress. The 
House of Representatives calls its presiding officer a speaker 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 505 

and the lieutenant governor is president of the Senate. Each 
has an elaborate system of committee and a set of rules, copied 
largely from those of Congress. Bills to become laws must be 
introduced, referred to some committee, reported, read three 
times on as many different days, and passed by a majority of all 
the members of each house. Each house keeps a journal of its 
proceedings, so any citizen may find out what action was taken 
on a measure. 

The Committee System. As every bill must be considered 
by a committee, the most important work is done in the com- 
mittee rooms; and as these are not pubKc meetings, it is not 
always easy to know what is going on in them. Frequently 
committees kill desirable bills by refusing to report them, and 
hundreds of bad or unnecessary bills are disposed of in the same 
way at every session. 

Sessions. The legislature meets in January of the odd num- 
bered years, and is usually in session about three months, al- 
though there is no time limit. The Governor may at any time 
call special sessions to consider urgent matters or measures neg- 
lected by the legislature in its regular session. 

The Judiciary. Circuit Courts. The entire state is divided 
into eighteen divisions called circuits. Each circuit has three 
or more counties, except one — Cook county making a circuit 
by itself. In each circuit three judges are chosen and these 
judges go from county to county and hold what are called Cir- 
cuit Courts, which are the chief courts for criminal and civil 
suits in each county. 

Appellate Courts. As courts sometimes make mistakes, 
there are additional courts whose business it is to correct mis- 
takes. The first of these is the Appellate Court. The state, 
outside of Cook county, is divided into three large districts, 
and Cook county forms an additional district. In each dis- 
trict a court of appeals is held; that is, a court to correct the mis- 
takes made by the circuit courts. Three circuit judges hold 
this court and two must agree to any verdict. 



5o6 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

The Supreme Court. Even the court of appeals makes 
mistakes, so there is a Supreme Court of seven judges which 
meets at Springfield. Its business is to make final decisions on 
all questions of alleged error in the lower courts, to decide ques- 
tions of constitutionaHty, and keep judicial procedure uniform 
throughout the state. 

WHAT THE STATE DOES 

Important Laws. The state does not exist to furnish offices 
for a few men, but offices are created because the state has 
important work to do. In the first place, the state enacts all 
the chief laws affecting property, inheritance, marriage, and 
divorce. It enacts the criminal code in which crimes against 
the state are defined and penalties provided for their com- 
mission. It grants charters to corporations of all kinds, thus 
enabling a large number of people to do business as a single 
individual. 

Creates Minor Divisions. The state also creates, or permits 
to be created, all of the various local subdivisions, such as coun- 
ties, townships, cities, and \allages. All the powers which these 
various bodies exercise come from the state and may be altered 
by it at any time. General laws are just as binding within any 
one of these local divisions as elsewhere in the state. 

Protects the Individual Citizen. Another very important 
duty of the state is to protect the fife, property, and morals of 
its citizens. It does this by enacting general criminal laws to 
punish evildoers. It tries to see that the people are not poi- 
soned by unsafe, or adulterated foods. It does this through a 
State Food Commissioner who has chemists and inspectors in 
his employ and has done much efficient work in securing pure 
and properly branded food products for the people of Illinois. 

Protects Laborers. The state also protects the lives of thou- 
sands of workers by specifying the conditions under which they 
may be employed. Children under certain ages must not be 
employed in factories. Machinery of a dangerous kind must 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 



507 



be made safe. Women can be employed for only a limited num- 
ber of hours per week. Conditions of labor in mines are care- 
fully regulated. The state does not merely pass laws on such 
subjects and let people obey them or not as they please, but it 
has provided administrative bureaus to see that they are obeyed. 
The Factory Inspector and his assistants deal with all the con- 
ditions of labor above ground and the State Mining Board takes 
charge of all mining conditions. 

Protects the Public Health. There is also a State Board of 
Health, with a secretary in charge of its work. It is the busi- 
ness of the Board to protect the people against contagious dis- 
eases. It does this by pubHshing bulletins containing descrip- 
tions of such diseases as diphtheria, smallpox, consumption, 
tuberculosis, etc. These are disseminated as widely as possible 
and instruct the pubHc on the dangers of such diseases, — what 
to do when they appear, and how to disinfect clothing and prem- 
ises which might contain germs dangerous to the health of 
others. The State Board also supervises the medical colleges 
throughout the state, examines and Ucenses physicians, and 
permits no one to practice medicine without a license. 

The state also inspects barber shops throughout the state 
to see that they are run in a cleanly and sanitary manner. No 
barber is permitted to conduct his business until an inspector 
has given him a '' clean bill of health." Danger of loss of life 
by fire in lodging houses and theaters is guarded against by 
the regulation of exits, air space, fire escapes, etc., through 
systematic inspection by state employees. 

Steam boilers are another common source of danger. A 
state inspector now examines them at more or less frequent 
intervals and requires that they be made reasonably safe from 
all danger of explosion. 

Regulates Private Enterprise. The state does not permit 
private individuals to conduct their businesses regardless of the 
rights of people engaged in other pursuits. The sale of alcohohc 
Hquors is hedged about with numerous restrictions, because of 



5o8 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

their known dangerous influence upon society. Saloon keepers 
must have special Hcenses to carry on the business, and then 
must not sell to minors or drunkards, and special power in the 
form of local option laws is granted to communities to protect 
themselves from the traffic. 

Banking. Banks are required to conduct their business in 
such a way that their creditors may not suffer loss. The Audi- 
tor appoints an examiner who has power to inspect the various 
state banks and to compel them to obey the state laws. Build- 
ing and Loan Associations come under the same general rule and 
are supervised and regulated under the general direction of the 
Auditor. 

Insurance. Life insurance and fire insurance companies 
have unusual opportunities to defraud the public, for they 
operate through agents who are accustomed to make big claims 
in order to get business. No person can judge the truth or fal- 
sity of an agent's claims or know whether he represents a sound 
or an unsound company, unless he has access to the facts. The 
state requires every insurance company doing business in the 
state to file with the Insurance Superintendent a detailed state- 
ment of its exact financial standing; and the Superintendent is 
empowered to prevent any company from doing business in the 
state if its report shows it is not sound, or if, in any way, its 
statements as to condition are false. Thus when approached 
by an agent who wishes to sell insurance, a person knows that 
the company the agent represents is at least safe. In addition 
he may learn the exact condition of the company by consulting 
a copy of the report of the Insurance Superintendent, which 
may be had for the asking. 

Railroads. Railroads being common carriers are carefully 
regulated. They are not permitted to charge what they please 
for carrying freight or passengers, nor are they permitted to 
charge higher rates to one individual than to another for the 
same service. Neither are they permitted to charge higher 
rates to one town than to another, when the length of haul 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 509 

is the same or shorter. All these various regulations are en- 
forced by the constant work of the State Railroad and Warehouse 
Commission. 

Coal Mines and Factories. Owners of coal mines and fac- 
tories are subjected to constant and careful regulation of their 
business so far as concerns conditions which may affect the safety 
or health of their employees. The regulations include protec- 
tion of dangerous machinery, ventilation, firing of blasts, prop- 
erly supporting the roofs of mines, hoisting devices, and means 
of escape in case of fire. 

Aid to Private Enterprise. The state also lends substantial 
aid to many important private enterprises. Through the 
Farmers' Institutes and the College of Agriculture at the State 
University, it furnishes information on soils and their treatment, 
methods of cultivation, fertilizers and how to use them, insect 
enemies and how to fight them, and many other topics of direct 
practical importance to the grain farmer. Similar aid is given 
to the stock farmer and the fruit raiser. There is also special 
aid given the latter in the support given by the state to the 
State Horticultural Society. Farmers are also aided by the 
maintenance of a State Fair and by money paid by the state 
to aid the county fairs. 

The soil of about one- third of the state is more or less acid. 
It has been found that finely pulverized limestone will greatly 
benefit such soil. The state employs the labor of the convicts 
at the state penitentiary at Chester to prepare the limestone, 
which is then furnished to the farmers of the state at the actual 
cost of manufacture. In this way the farmers receive consid- 
erable benefit. 

Care of Dependents and Criminals. The state takes direct 
care of the insane and defective classes. In the six great hos- 
pitals for the insane several thousand persons are cared for. 
The state also has schools where the blind, the deaf, the dumb, 
and those of feeble mind may be educated and trained to do 
useful work. 



5IO ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

The state has direct care of the criminals and maintains 
two state penitentiaries for that purpose, one at JoHet and the 
other at Chester. The prisoners are kept busy at useful occu- 
pations, the object being not to punish but to correct the crim- 
inal tendency, if possible. Under the parole system, when a 
convict is considered no longer dangerous to society, he is re- 
leased on good behavior. If he conducts himself properly he 
remains free. If he again commits crime, he is returned to 
prison. 

Education. The state takes a direct interest in education. 
The State Superintendent and his work have been mentioned. 
Five normal schools are maintained by the state for the prep- 
aration of trained teachers for the pubHc schools. Then there 
is the University of Illinois with more than five thousand stu- 
dents, maintained wholly by the state. At this institution expert 
training is given in almost every field — professional, mechan- 
ical, and business — and its work is constantly widening. The 
state also maintains there experts to aid every other department 
of the state in its work. 

Finally the state raises by direct taxation $2,000,000 and 
distributes it to the various school districts of the state in pro- 
portion to their population of school age. In this way many 
poor districts are able to keep their schools open longer than they 
otherwise could and employ better teachers than they could, 
did the state not furnish such aid. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1. From the Illinois "Blue Book" make a list of all the state officers 

and state boards. 

2. Make a similar list of all the state institutions. Locate each on a 

map of Illinois. 

3. Secure copies of the bulletins from the State Board of Health and have 

the pupils learn the best methods of preventing and treating tuber- 
culosis, smallpox, and diphtheria. 

4. Secure from the various state boards bulletins which furnish informa- 

tion of value to the workers of your district, and have the children 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 511 

learn just what the state is doing for the occupations in which their 

fathers are engaged. 
Is the soil on the farms in your district acid? How may the acidity 

be corrected? 
Is it necessary to elect all the state officers? Could they be chosen 

by civil service methods? What officers are now so chosen? 
Could water power be developed in your neighborhood? Who should 

have the profits from such water power when it is developed? Will 

such water power increase in value? What will cause such increase? 

Is such power any more valuable than it was one hundred years 

ago? Will it be any more valuable one hundred years from now 

than it is at present? Who should get the benefit of the increased 

value? 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

County Government. The entire state is divided into one 
hundred and two counties, which vary greatly in size and popu- 
lation. Eighty-seven of the counties are divided into smaller 
divisions called towns or townships, and fifteen are not so divided. 
All the counties are governed by county boards. In the coun- 
ties having township organization, with the single exception of 
Cook, the county board is made up of men chosen from each town- 
ship and called supervisors. In all the other counties the county 
board is composed of commissioners elected from the county at 
large. Cook county has fifteen such commissioners, while the 
other counties have but three each. 

What the County Does. The business of a county govern- 
ment is to collect the taxes for local and state purposes; care 
for the poor; keep records of births, deaths, marriages, divorces, 
wills, deeds, mortgages, and all other transactions which may 
affect property rights; maintain courts, and enforce the criminal 
laws of the state. 

Taxes. The money to run the local and state government 
is largely secured from a tax upon the property of the citizens 
of the state. The first step necessary in taxing is to determine 
how much property each individual has; that is, the property 
must be assessed. The County Treasurer super\'ises these 
assessments. He either does the work himself or employs depu- 
ties to do it for him in the counties not under township organiza- 
tion. In the counties under township organization there is an 
Assessor chosen by each town who makes the actual assessment, 
but works under the direction of the County Treasurer. 

Each division of the state levies its own tax and these dif- 
ferent levies are sent to the County Clerk who combines them and 
determines just what portion each person assessed shall pay. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 513 

Then he prepares books for the various men who are to collect 
the taxes. In the counties under township organization each 
town elects a Collector who does the work and pays the money 
over to the Treasurer. In the counties not under township 
organization the Sheriff collects the taxes. 

Poor Relief. Persons in destitute circumstances can secure 
aid from the county. In most cases this can be done while Hv- 
ing in one's own home. Where it seems best, people unable 
to care for themselves are sent to the workhouse or poor farm 
kept by the county. In the counties with township organiza- 
tion each Supervisor is a poor law ofhcer for those Hving in his 
own town. When a case of destitution is reported to him it is 
his duty to investigate it, and if he thinks best, to order food, 
clothing, fuel, or shelter furnished.* The bills for these sup- 
pHes are presented to the county board of which he is a member 
and paid from the county funds. 

Important Records. The records of vital statistics are kept 
by the County Clerk. When persons wish to marry they must 
go to him and get a marriage Hcense, which is returned to him 
after the ceremony is performed and is entered among his per- 
manent records. Physicians throughout the county report to 
him all births and deaths of persons under their care. In case 
of deaths due to accident or to other sudden cause where no 
physician was in charge, the death is immediately investigated 
by the County Coroner and the cause of death determined. 
Mortgages and transactions which involve titles to land are 
carefully recorded by a county ofhcer. In some cases this officer 
is the Circuit Clerk and in others the Recorder. 

Courts. In each county there are two kinds of courts, for 
the county is really the unit of the state for judicial purposes. 
In the first place there is a County Court, presided over by a 
County Judge, which tries persons accused of minor offenses, 
and usually has charge of the probate of wills. Where the 
county has a large population the latter work is sometimes done 
by a separate court, called a Probate Court. 



514 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

The most important court in each county is the Circuit Court, 
which meets two or more times each year, and is held by one of 
the Circuit Judges already mentioned. It is in this court that 
all the important civil and criminal cases arising in each county 
are tried. It also grants divorces. 

Enforcement of Criminal Law. For the detection of crime 
there is a Grand Jury of twenty-three men, chosen by the super- 
visors, which meets as a part of a session of the Circuit Court. 
Complaints are laid before it, usually by the State's Attorney, 
whose business it is to prosecute all violations of the criminal 
law in the name of the state. If the Grand Jury believes an 
individual has committed a crime, it returns an indictment 
against him. The indictment states what offense has been com- 
mitted, with specifications of time and place. When an indict- 
ment is returned against a person, he must stand trial in open 
court, and there, before a Petit Jury of twelve, the State's Attor- 
ney must prove him guilty of the offense as charged in the in- 
dictment. If he fails to do so, the accused person goes free. 

Schools. The county is also a school unit for supervisory 
purposes. Each county has a Superintendent of Schools whose 
duty it is to certify teachers before they are permitted to 
teach in the schools of the county. Teachers' examinations are 
given by a State Examining Board under the direction of the 
County Superintendents. A fee of one dollar is charged for 
each examination, and this is kept in a separate fund for the 
expenses of a County Teachers' Institute which is held each 
year for the benefit of the teachers of the county. 

It is also a part of the Superintendent's duty to visit the 
various schools in the county, outline work to be done, conduct 
promotional examinations, and give the various teachers what 
help he can in the management of their schools. The office is one 
of great importance to the whole county and is non-pohtical. 

Care of Roads. In a rural district the care of roads is one of 
the most important duties of a local government, so far as the 
community is concerned. In counties not under township organ- 



HISTORY 'AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 515 

ization, this is done by the county board at the expense of the 
whole county; but in the other counties, only the larger bridges 
are kept up at the expense of the county. The smaller bridges 
and all the roads fall regularly to the care of the people in the 
town where they are located; consequently the care of roads is 
the most important duty of a town and, aside from the care of 
the town house, is about the only purpose for which a town 
levies taxes. There are three Commissioners of Highways in each 
town, and these appoint road overseers to look after the road? 
in particular sections of the town. In some portions of the 
state a poll tax, payable in money or labor, is levied upon every 
able-bodied man for the care of the roads. The law also permits 
each taxpayer to work out his road tax. It is not a good sys- 
tem and does not produce good roads. 

The Town. The town is governed by a town-meeting which 
meets once a year in April at the time of the annual election of 
officers. Sometimes questions of real importance come up at 
this meeting, but more frequently the meeting is only formal. 
Other town officers are: the Town Clerk, who keeps records of 
the transactions of the highway commissioners and the minutes 
of the town meetings; the Supervisor, Collector, and Assessor, 
whose duties have already been described; and certain minor 
officers, such as Constable, Justice of the Peace, and Pound- 
master. 

The School District. In the country, the school district is 
the most important division for educational purposes. These 
vary greatly in size, have one or more schoolhouses, and are 
governed by three directors who employ the teacher, and see 
that the school is properly supplied with the things it needs. 
They also levy the taxes for the support of the school. 

Township High Schools. In some places several districts 
ha^^e been combined into a special high school district and 
excellent high schools established in farming communities. 
These sometimes include a single township and sometimes parts 
of two or more townships. 



5i6 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

City and Village Government. Villages and cities have 
special governments to meet their particular needs. The gov- 
erning body in the former is the Village Board and its Presi- 
dent. It has the power to make local improvements; such as 
sidewalks and paving, provide lights for the streets, regulate 
the sale of liquor, maintain order, and protect health and prop- 
erty. When a village has a population of one thousand and an 
area of not less than four square miles it may organize as a 
city. Since the cities have larger numbers of people to care 
for than villages, they are given special powers of self-govern- 
ment. Usually these are only extensions of powers exercised 
by villages, but in some cases they are new duties caused by 
the large populations Hving in small areas. Under the general 
law cities are governed by a City Council and a Mayor who 
have the power to make local rules or ordinances on a great 
variety of things. 

What the City Does. A city must look after the health of 
its people. To do this there is a local Board of Health with 
power to close pubHc buildings, enforce quarantine rules, force 
people to clean up their premises, and do anything else which 
may be necessary to protect the pubhc health. The city must 
keep itself clean in order to be healthy. To do this it has officers 
whose especial duty it is to clean the streets and alleys. Others 
dispose of garbage of various kinds which comes from dwelHngs 
and business houses. Others are busy building and keeping in 
repair sewers to drain the city and carry away its filth. Others 
are busy pro\'iding the people with pure water, for a city must 
have a constant supply of good water in large quantity. Cities 
also maintain public parks and playgrounds where people m_ay 
go for fresh air, shade, and recreation. 

Protection of Morals, Life, and Property. A city also has 
special problems in the protection of the pubhc morals, main- 
taining order, and preserving hfe and property from danger. 
There is usually a more or less efficient Pohce Department which 
is responsible for order on the streets and the capture of crim- 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 517 

inals. A Fire Department stands ready at all times to assist in 
extinguishing fires when they break out, and the City Council 
enacts a multitude of special rules which cover all of these points; 
such as, fixing fire hmits within which frame buildings cannot 
be built, Umiting the height of buildings, regulating exits, fire 
escapes, etc. 

Public Service. In addition to what has been given, a city 
has many business problems to meet. One of these is transpor- 
tation on its streets, either by street cars, cabs, or some other 
system. Another is supplying electric light or gas for lighting 
the streets and homes of its residents. Still others are tele- 
phone service, milk supply, regulation of weights and measures, 
and erection of public buildings. 

Finally each city is a school district in itself and maintains a 
complete system of schools, from the lowest grade to the high 
school. The head of the city school system is usually called a 
superintendent. 

As our population is increasing most rapidly in our urban 
centers, city government and city problems are becoming each 
year more important, and laws must be constantly changed to 
meet changed conditions. 

Commission Form of City Government. By a law passed 
in 1 9 10 the people of any city may, by popular vote, adopt the 
commission form of city government, and several cities, includ- 
ing Springfield, have done so. Under this plan five commis- 
sioners, elected from the city as a whole, take over the duties 
of the Mayor and Council and exercise all the powers of the 
city government. The advantage claimed for this system 
is that each commissioner has charge of a definite part of 
the city's government and is responsible for the way it is 
conducted. If the police fail to do their duty, the people 
know whom to blame. In this way it fixes responsibihty 
upon a few men who can be watched by the voters. If 
any commissioner fails to do his duty, or does it in a way the 
people do not like, he may have his office taken away from 



5i8 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

him by a special election. This method of removal is known 
as the recall. 

Duty of the Citizen. It is the duty of every citizen to be 
interested in his government and see that it is run intelHgently 
and economically. He should insist that public officials do their 
duty and should aid in enforcing the law. In his home city he 
should take an active part in keeping the streets, alleys, and parks 
clean; and the best place to begin is with his own premises. No 
one likes to see paper, leaves, and dirt on the streets, and no 
one can do more to keep his city clean, healthful, and beauti- 
ful than the boys and girls. Look about you and see what you 
can do yourself and what you can encourage your neighbors to 
do. Be a help and not a hindrance to good government. 



QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1. Who are your county officers, when were they elected, how long do 

they serve, what does each do? 

2. Are there any poor people in your district who have to have support 

from the county? 

3. Why should people be very careful what kind of a man is elected for 

Supervisor? 

4. Are all the laws enforced in your community? Do you know of any 

violations of law? Who is responsible for the enforcement of the 
law which you see violated? Have you complained to this officer 
and called his attention to the violations? Is not that your 
duty? 

5. Are the roads in your neighborhood in good condition? Why not? 

How may they be improved? Does it pay to have bad roads? 

6. Whose business is it to keep the streets clean? Is a person a good 

citizen who litters up the streets and parks? 

7. To what officer would you go in the following cases: a serious fire, to 

fix a clogged sewer, to mend a broken bridge, if a pupil came to 
school with a case of measles, if you found a man dead in the 
street or on the road, if your neighbor allowed his premises to 
become offensively dirty, if some one in your town keeps slot- 
machines? 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 519 



GOOD REFERENCE BOOKS 

1. "Blue Book of the State of lUinois." 

2. Greene, "Government of Illinois." 

3. Trowbridge, "Illinois and the Nation." 

4. Hurd, "Revised Statutes of the State of IlHnois." 

$. Reports of the state boards and of the state agricultural experiment 
station at Urbana. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
009 434 766 fi 



